Comments

DVOA ranks the 2009 Pats 25th against #1 WRs, 8th against #2 WRs, and 10th against Other WRs..... so whom did Bodden regularly cover?

Seems like a lot of money if he was the man on the #1's, and maybe a lot if he's on the #2's as well.

(then again, maybe the reason for the good #1 stats against the Pats was somebody completely blanketing the #2's... or the good numbers against #2's are because the #1's were already torching the Pats so why pass to your #2 guy...)

My reaction upon seeing this was that you are running out of ways to say a team signed or added a player and that Steelers fans probably are hoping not to see a variation of the phrase "lock up" in the same headline as "Georgia" and "Ben Roethlisberger."

Bodden was consistently the best DB on the team. Wilhite was always exactly where he needed to be...and yet still allowed the WR to make the catch. Butler made some amazingly athletic plays on the ball...but was often in the wrong place (rookie issues, maybe?). Wheatley couldn't consistently beat out Bodden or Wilhite or Butler to get on the field. And Bodden also played better than any of the safeties.

He was a sound tackler, one of the better tacklers in the secondary (only James Sanders probably matched him).

He generally didn't cover a particular receiver--he just played one side.

Subjectively, I think the Pats poor defense against #1 WR's was due in part to times when said receivers got matched up against Wilhite or when the Pats were playing zone and their young secondary got confused (or when the absolute lack of pass rush was requiring the DB's to cover the WR's for 8-9 seconds). I rarely recall seeing Bodden give up a long pass due to poor play.

I don't think he's Nnamdi Asomugah, but he's definitely a very solid corner who can play man or zone. And those guys don't grow on trees. I'm glad the Pats held on to him; maybe they overpaid a little, but it's not like there were a ton of options in free agency, and draft options take two to three years to develop at CB. Also, without a cap and with plenty of income, why not overpay a little for a guy that you've self scouted and know you can rely on. I'd rather overpay slightly on a solid prospect than get a great deal on a guy that may or may not work out.